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Overview

Trio smile as Asian race ends

The Asian qualifying round for the Men's Olympic Football
Tournament came to a conclusion on Wednesday, with the favourites
Australia, Japan, and Korea Republic claiming their places in next
year's finals. The trio's roads to Beijing have been far
from straightforward, however, with the sides forced to battle hard
for their tickets.

The traditional powerhouses struggled to meet the high
expectations from their respective fans and the media, and only
managed to secure Olympic berths on the final matchday. Australia
fought back to draw 1-1 with Korea DPR, before Japan held on to
earn a decisive draw against Saudi Arabia, while Korea Republic
were held to a goalless stalemate by Bahrain.

Australia, in particular, have been under pressure since
beginning their first qualifying campaign at this level in Asia.
Despite their slow start in the second stage, with two points in as
many games against Iran and Jordan, the Aussies found their touch
in a 2-0 reverse of Saudi Arabia at home. A 2-1 defeat at the hands
of the Saudis followed, but Australia progressed to the final stage
by beating Iran and Jordan.

Although their winning streak was halted in August by a goalless
draw in Iraq, the semi-finalists at Athens 2004, Graham
Arnold's men kept on chasing the Iraqis with two successive
home wins over Korea DPR and Lebanon. Their penultimate game
against Iraq at home proved to be a crucial one, as the Aussies
took control of their group after a 2-0 win with Adrian Leijer and
their inspirational captain Mark Milligan scoring in each half.

After clinching a finals berth with a decisive draw thanks to
Milligan's equaliser in Pyongyang, coach Arnold was quick to
praise his men: "The players were put into a position in the
last two games against Iraq and North Korea where they have never
been before - they had to play under pressure and they knew they
had to get results."

Twist and turnsJapan also made hard work of progression. After cruising past
Syria, Malaysia, and Hong Kong with six straight wins to top their
group in the second stage, Japan were handed a tougher task against
stronger opponents, namely Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Vietnam.

Yasuharu Sorimachi's men looked on course for Beijing after
1-0 home wins against Vietnam and Qatar respectively, but they then
suffered a surprising 2-1 defeat by Qatar in Doha. However, Japan
bounced back in pole position by seeing off Vietnam 4-0 in the
fifth matchday thanks to a brace from Tadanari Lee.

With a draw against the Saudis enough for them to qualify for
their fourth consecutive finals, Japan held on to a goalless
stalemate at Tokyo's National Stadium, where they also secured
their passage to two previous Olympics in Sydney and Athens.
"It has been a very difficult qualifying campaign," said
Sorimachi after the match. "But we are through to Beijing and
we hope to work harder from now on so we can perform well next
year."

In fact, it has been a much more difficult race for Korea
Republic, who had to appoint a new coach in a hurry after Pim
Verbeek vacated the post in July. The young Taeguk Warriors began
the final stage under the guidance of Park Sung-Hwa, and things
seemed to work well as they beat Uzbekistan, Bahrain, and Syria in
their first three games.

Captain Kim Jin-Kyu, who also shone at Germany 2006, has been
the centre of the meanest defence in the competition, while wingers
Lee Keun-Ho and Kim Seung-Yong scored decisive goals in the
process. However, the problem, as always for the Koreans, was in
front of goal. Although they eventually booked their sixth straight
ticket to the finals, Korea Republic produced no more than four
goals, as they were held to 0-0 draws in the three remaining
games.

Park remained positive nevertheless, and revealed his plans for
the finals. "I will reinforce the squad with more experienced
players next year," said the coach. "It would be good to
have a utility man like Park Ji-Sung. Park Chu-Young is also
recovering (from a foot injury) and I'm sure he will return to
top form if he builds up his confidence."